In recent hours, the French countryside sector has joined the protests launched by farmers in other European countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Poland or Romania, against the environmental measures that the European Union plans to impose, and that affect their economies.
Since last Thursday afternoon, groups of French farmers have blocked the A64 motorway between Toulouse and Tarbesand the RN124 and RN20 roads, both in the south of the country, and the latter very close to the border with Andorra and Spain. “We want them to listen to us. We have demands and we will remain here until they start to move,” declared one of the farmers blocking the highway, to the BFM channel. For its part, the main agricultural union, FNSEA, is studying the call for a huge national protest during the next few weeks.
The main complaints of French farmers, and the rest of the European Union, are: the delay in the delivery of various public aidthe planned end of the agricultural diesel subsidythe implementation of new environmental standards and the prices imposed by the agro-food industries.
The French Government reacts
Faced with these protests, the Government is beginning to react. President Emmanuel Macron asked the prefects (government delegates in each department) on Friday let them meet starting this weekend with farmers and ranchers to hear their demands.
Furthermore, the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, will visit the rural department of Cher (center), to visit a dairy farm and then attend a meeting with representatives of agricultural unions to address above all one of the demands of the sector: administrative simplification.
The first Minister, Gabriel Attal, will meet on Monday with the president of FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, as the latter announced on Your message.
Le ras le bol des agriculteurs exprimé depuis des mois se transforme en colère partout en France. Les mots ne suffisent plus. Je verrai @GabrielAttal Monday at 6pm in Matignon. Agir, vite, à Bruxelles et Paris pour redonner dignity, revenu et avenir à ceux qui nourrissent @FNSEA
— Arnaud Rousseau (@rousseautrocy) January 19, 2024
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The Government’s objective is to avoid images of tractors blocking streets and highways as has been the case for more than a week, and for the opposition to take political advantage of a possible crisis.
The far-right candidate National Group (RN)Jordan Bardella, head of the party’s list for the European elections of June 9, for which leads the pollswill also visit a farm today and meet with farmer representatives in the department of Gironde (west), in an attempt to take advantage of the sector’s anger for their benefit.